Friday 8 June 2012

Review: Don't You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire

Title: Don't You Wish 
Author: Roxanne St. Claire
Publication date: July 10th 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Age group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Cover rating: 4/5
Content rating: 5/5
Buy: Amazon / The Book Depository


Description:
When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad's whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she's Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she's the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.   
In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilirating . . . and illegal. Here she's got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she's ever seen.
But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.
 
So when she's offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it? The choice isn't as simple as you think.
My thoughts:

Wow, I completely devoured this book! I genuinely loved it and hated having to tear my eyes away from the pages. Some parts were so intense and had me feeling nervous for the characters! Don't You Wish is a wonderfully written novel and so much deeper and thought-provoking than I excepted; while still managing to be a light and fun read. I was really intrigued by the description but what I found inside the book was even more interesting.

Annie Nutter is a nobody at her school. She's been deemed unpopular, unattractive and unworthy. Her family's a little crazy and tensions are running high. Annie is sick of being treated badly by the popular kids at her school and, of course, wants out. Her mom has been feeling the same way. She saw an article in a magazine about a man she nearly married- a successful, rich man- and wonders how her life would have turned out had she gone with him instead of Annie's father. Annie's dad is an inventor and one crazy invention ends up transporting Annie to the life she has been dreaming of.

You would think this would be great. She's got everything she ever wished for. But after only a few moments in her new life as Ayla Monroe, Annie has already realized that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Ayla has a nasty personality and now Annie's stuck in her body. I felt so frustrated for Annie and hated the thought of being stuck in her position! It was so sad to see everybody be so shocked at how nice 'Ayla' was being all of a sudden. But it was great to see Annie take the high road and realize she did not have to be the stereotypical, mean popular girl.

Once Annie met Charlie- the 'nobody' of Crap Academy'- the book became so exciting! I loved how open Charlie was to accepting that Ayla was no longer the mean dumb girl he'd known her to be. It's so sweet watching their friendship blossom and to see them opening up to each other. Annie has a huge secret- but Charlie's got his secrets too. And Charlie's a genius who thinks he can get Annie back to her old life- but does she want to go?

It was heartbreaking watching Annie try to make her decision and I was freaking out at times! I was so sucked in to her life and found her really easy to relate to. I myself was agonizing over what she should do and it really made me question what I would do if I were her. This book is all about realizing that everyone has their hardships and even 'perfect' people aren't so perfect after all. I'm giving this book five stars and I don't do that lightly. The moral of the story? Be careful what you wish for!

I was provided with an ARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

20 comments:

  1. this sounds a bit fun but quite thought =provoking at the same time. i'm intrigued!

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  2. I loved your review, because I totally felt the same way! I was so concerned about what choice she was going to make, and I was so torn!

    Jenny

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  3. I'd seen this book on Netgalley but I didn't know if it sounded any good but as soon as I read the first line of your review, I went straight back to NG and requested it and now I have my fingers crossed!

    This sounds like such a good read and unique too!

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  4. I'm so glad you enjoyed this book Nicola, its sound like such a fun read! Fantastic review! :)

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  5. Amazing review, Nicola, you have sold me on this one. I am definitely going to give it a go in the future. Annie sounds really interesting and I can't wait to find out more about her. Also that cover is gorgeous. :)

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  6. I never even considered this book until your review! I'm glad to see you enjoyed this much. I like that you mentioned this book is both a light read and thought-provoking. I will definitely have to add it to the TBR pile. ;) Great review!

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  7. I'm reading this one right now and I was also sucked right in! I can't wait to read more of her relationship with Charlie.

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  8. Awesome review. Your loving your contemporaries lately :) Glad you enjoyed this one so much

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  9. Ok I haven't seen this one yet but wow! It sounds so different and good, it kind of reminded me of that 80's movie Peggy Sue Got Married. I guess it goes to show you, be greatful for what you have, the grass isn't always greener!

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  10. Wow, five stars huh? That's awesoe. it sounds like a really thought-provoking book, but that's good it's able to be a bit light as well. I wouldn't have realized it was so "intense" in parts, but it makes me want to read it more. hadn't heard of this one, so I'm glad it's a goodie!

    -Lauren

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  11. Glad to see that you really enjoyed that one! It's always a great feeling when you can give a book 5 stars with confidence. I don't read contemporaries, but this one definitely sounds like it had an interesting storyline that makes you think. Great review!

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  12. I had seen the cover of this book but had no idea what it was about and I love the premise. I'm totally going to read it.

    Sounds a bit like Freaky Friday which is one of my favorite books of all time -- and the movie wasn't bad either!!

    Thanks for stopping by the blog today!

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  13. I haven't heard too much about this book but now I really want to read it!!!!! I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the characters and I love books with morals so this is definitely one for me! Great review :-) BTW beautiful blog!!!!

    Following!!!!
    SeeitORreadit

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  14. This is new to me, but i love how wrapped up and emotionally invested you got..a good moral is always nice too..Sweet review!

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  15. Pfiew. I always judge a book by it's cover, but I'm glad that I've read your review. Based on the cover, I would not give it a second glance in the book store, but it sounds amazing! Switching with someone elses life always fascinates me, so I'll definitely check this one out :D Thanks!

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  16. I haven't read this but it looks promising. I think I have it on my tbr list already though. Thanks for the great review :D

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  17. I have some serious cover love for this one. :)

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  18. this sounds like a really compelling read. I really want to check it out now. Thanks for the great review.

    Thanks for stopping by my discussion post. Most of my reviews are 3 stars or up just because I basically only read the types of books that I really think I will like. :)

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  19. Wow, from the cover this seems like a light read. It sounds really good and if you rated it 5 stars, I definitely want to check it out. Great review Nicola. :)

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  20. I love novels that are thought-provoking, the kind that you have to think about your life and what you would do if it were you :) this certainly seems like my kind of book! And weirdly enough, I never heard anything about this one! Thank you so much for sharing.

    Great review!

    Rachel @ Books to Consider

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So sorry about the word verification, it's the only way to stop the huge amounts of spam!

Thanks SO much for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it.

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